You are using an old version of Internet Explorer. It may not display all the features of this and other websites. To improve security and online experience, please use a different browser or update Internet Explorer.

Ingenious Objects

Find Places to visit

Discover the places where the story of human ingenuity comes to life. Explore the prehistoric monuments built by our ancestors, and follow the story of England right through to the 21st Century at Dover's Secret Wartime tunnels and York's Cold War Bunker. Use our interactive map to find an place to visit near you, and start planning your next adventure.

An early example of domestic technologies such as central heating, flushing toilets and piped hot water, with grounds designed by innovative landscape architect Capability Brown.

Take part in our events

See thousands of years of innovation come to life at our events across England. Step back in time to experience invention and innovation through the ages, from ancient technology demonstrations at Stonehenge to the pioneering days of modern technology.

Discover Our Ingenious History

Quiz - Are you ingenious enough to survive through the ages?

Throughout 2017, we're exploring how human ingenuity has shaped history and the modern world, from the first Neolithic tools to modern medicine, warfare and domestic technology.

Explore the articles below to brush up your knowledge on history's invention and innovations. Then try the How Ingenious Are You? quiz to see if you can smart your way from Neolithic England through the Roman, Medieval and Victorian periods. Will you make it all the way to the 20th Century?

Timeline of Human Ingenuity

About 4000 BCNeolithic miners dig deep for flint

From earliest times people used flint to make tools, but from about 4000 BC Neolithic miners were beginning to mine to reach the higher quality flint that was found underground. Around 4,500 years ago over 400 pits were dug at Grime's Graves in Norfolk - the only Neolithic flint mine in Britain now open to visitors.

About 2500 BCRaising the stone circle at Stonehenge

Monuments like Stonehenge reveal the sophisticated building techniques of our Neolithic ancestors. Transporting the stones to the site, raising the stone circle and erecting Stonehenge's unique trilithons involved great engineering ability as well as organisational skill.

AD 43 - about AD 410Roman bathing and heating

Keeping clean was important for the Romans, and towns and forts had underground drains to take away dirty water and sewage. Most Roman forts like Chesters on Hadrian's Wall, towns like Wroxeter and villas like Lullingstone had purpose-built bath houses, which also had hot-air central heating.

1060sNormans build large network of castles

After the Battle of Hastings William the Conqueror secured power by building motte and bailey castles up and down the country. Most were assembled extremely quickly using earth and wood, but impressive stone towers were also built. The castles enabled the new Norman lords to control the local area and also acted as visible statements of power.

1540sHenry VIII builds English coastal forts

Henry VIII's chain of new gun forts along the south and east coasts were his response to the threat of invasion after his break with Rome. Though soon superseded, the design of forts like Deal, Walmer and Pendennis was state-of-the-art for its day - their squat, rounded towers were designed for maximum offensive and defensive firepower.

1687Newton publishes his law of motion

Sir Isaac Newton changed the way we understand the universe. His revolutionary theories on motion and gravity published in Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica ('Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy') proved that the movements of comets, tides and objects on earth (including apples!) could all be accounted for by the same principles of gravity.

1709An Engineering Revolution

Ironmaster, Abraham Darby discovered he could use coke rather than charcoal to fuel furnaces. This more economic and efficient method enabled the mass production of cast iron for the first time. It changed the face of industry and engineering forever.

1858 - 1875Bazalgette builds London sewage system

London's 'Great Stink' of 1858 prompted one of the most ambitious engineering projects in Victorian Britain. To combat the stench and frequent outbreaks of cholera in the city, civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette designed and built an extensive new sewage system with over 80 miles of sewers. His system remains in full use today.

1940sTuring develops early computing machine

Alan Turing was instrumental in developing the Automatic Computing Engine, one of the world's very first digital computers. A century earlier Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace had developed a mechanical and programmable computer but Turing's machine was capable of storing programs in its memory, meaning it could perform almost any task.

Prehistoric Ingenuity

Travel back to a time before written records to discover one of the most significant turning points in all human history. See our ancient crafters and experts bring some of the first feats of ingenuity to life on our YouTube channel.